Is Angus Booth The Next Mikey Anderson?

Over the summer, it was announced that defenseman Angus Booth would make his way to Ontario to continue his development.

The previous season, Booth played in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), where he tallied three goals and 25 assists, for a total of 28 points in 61 games played.

Clearly, Booth is not the offensive minded defender that the Reign had in Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence.

Although he does not find the scoresheet often, Booth has exceeded expectations in Ontario and is one of the big reasons why the team is finding success this season.

On opening night, Booth described his game as “simple”, going on to say that “if you don’t see me in a game, it’s probably a good thing because I’m doing my job.”

Ontario played five games in the month of October, in which head coach Marco Sturm told the media that Booth was voted the “player of the month” internally by the organization.

Obviously, five games is a small sample size. Nonetheless, to be recognized as the player of the month by the coaching staff is a huge accomplishment.

There is a lot of growing pains that come with moving from junior to professional hockey. A prime example of this is Francesco Pinelli, who struggled greatly in his first few months in Ontario.

Booth, though, has had little issues. “Since day one, rookie camp, training camp, season, he’s been impressive.” Sturm said about the 20 year old.

As the season progresses, the left-shot defender only continues to get better, anchoring the blue line and playing mistake free hockey.

Furthermore, Booth has played in all 35 games this season, while also getting crucial minutes against top guys in the league.

During a game in November, Jacob Moverare went down with an injury in the third period. Sturm depended on Booth to fill the void, in a way that exemplified the confidence the coach has in the young defensemen, going as far as saying that Booth “took over.”

The highest praise Booth has gotten is his comparison to Kings defender Mikey Anderson—a comparison that has been made my multiple parties.

When asked if Booth is a guy the media doesn't ask about enough, Sturm responded with an interesting answer,

"A lot of people compare him to Mikey Anderson, and, do we ever talk about Mikey? No right. We don't talk enough about those guys who do a lot of things for the team."

That’s Incredibly high praise for a guy who has only played 4 months of professional hockey.

Not only does Sturm have high praise for Booth, but so do the players. When first line forward Jeff Malott was asked which of the younger guys have impressed him the most, he was quick to answer,

“I’d say Angus Booth has been doing an awesome job. Lots of growth out of him. A lot of development that you can see every day, and see him get more comfortable on the ice.”

A key piece to Ontario’s success has been their talent on the blue line, a blue line that is led by Reign captain Joe Hicketts.

At the beginning of the season, you would see Hicketts paired with Booth often. In the last couple of months, though, Booth has been alongside Luke Rowe as the third pairing.

Unfortunately, Hicketts has gone down with an injury, and one that seems like it will be long term.

Who did Sturm decide to put on that top defensive pairing? None other than Angus Booth. When asked about the decision, Sturm had this to say,

“You can’t replace a guy like Hicketts, but if anyone can do it, it’s gonna be [Booth].”

Kings fans should be ecstatic about the full potential of Angus Booth. All signs point to the 20 year old Canadian becoming a significant blue liner for Los Angeles in the coming years.